Crushed (HIATUS)
by elizabeth.amber
Summary: In which Seiya finally gets Usagi to go out with him, the Sol Senshi are overprotective and suspicious, the Star Lights try to remain neutral, and Usagi begins to wonder just where her heart lies... Fem!Seiya/Usagi HIATUS; BEING EDITED
1. Chapter 1

Ohayo! I came across this story in my documents from forever ago and I decided to rewrite it and post it again (it got deleted quite a while ago). It'll be more in depth and hopefully better written now ^^ Please enjoy and leave a review if you have the time! :)

Disclaimer: If I owned Sailor Moon, Usagi wouldn't have ended up with Mamo-baka and would have lived happily ever after with Fighter :p

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Prologue

~Usagi~

"Shingo-baka! Get back here!" I yelled after my brat of a brother as he snatched the remote and ran off with it. Groaning, I got up from my comfy spot on the couch and chased after him, tripping over the things he overturned as he passed them. "Shiiingooo!" I whined.

"Usagi!" Mama stood in the doorway. "I need some ingredients for dinner tonight, be a dear and go get them for me?" she asked, holding up a list.

Sighing, I gave up on trying to reclaim the remote and took the list instead, glaring towards the laughter in the living room.

"Hai, Mama. I'll be back soon." With a quick peck on the cheek, I was out the door.

I hummed lightly and swung my arms at my side as I walked down the sidewalk on my way to the market, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Tucking a stray hair behind my ear, I watched as a little girl in pigtails ran in front of me, chasing after a beach ball. My thoughts turned to Chibi-Usa, how she always carried around the Luna Ball, how we teased each other...

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Seiya until I ran into him.

"Ohayo, Odango!" he greeted me cheerfully, grabbing my shoulders gently to keep me from stumbling. His smile slid into a frown when he saw my face. "Are you okay?"

I gave him a watery smile, blinking the wetness out of my eyes. "I'm fine, I was just thinking about... my cousin," I said. It wasn't a total lie; everyone who had known Chibi-Usa when she was here had thought she was my cousin, even my parents and Shingo. He raised his eyebrow, and I hastily explained. "She used to live with us for quite a while. I was very close with her..." I trailed off quietly, then smiled sadly. "Most of the time."

Blinking, Seiya shook his head. "Odango, I have just the thing to cheer you up: a night on the town with one of Tokyo's most eligible bachelors!"

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "Oh really? Well if you could get in contact with one of them, I'd love to meet him." I giggled at his expression.

He punched my arm lightly with an indignant expression that morphed into a slight smile. "Seriously, Usagi, I think a night off, with no worries or duties, is just what you need to feel better."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I have a boyfriend, Seiya," I told him for what felt like the hundredth time this week.

His eyes flashed briefly, but he was smiling before I could tell from what. "People can go out as friends, right? C'mon, you need this, and you know it."

I huffed, fighting a smile at his contagious happiness. "Fine." He cheered, but stopped when I poked his chest. "But only tonight."

"You got it, Odango! I'll be by your house at eight to pick you up!" he yelled as he ran off waving.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, then sighed. After all, we were just friends; what you go wrong? 'Maybe I'll get to see if Taiki-san was right about Seiya's horrible dancing skills!' Laughing to myself, I hurried on towards the market and when I purchased the groceries, I raced home to prepare for the evening.

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~Starlights~

Yaten, Taiki, and Kakyuu watched in concern as Seiya rushed around the apartment,throwing clothes around and getting ready for is date with Tsukino. As soon as he ran into his room and closed the door, Yaten turned his serious green eyes to his princess.

"If I may, Princess, I don't think this is a good idea. This is not going to end well for him."

Kakyuu tilted her head in consideration. "I fear for Fighter's well-being. If Tsukino-chan doesn't accept her, her heart will be crushed."

Taiki, slightly less worried than the others, stated calmly, "She'll be fine. Besides, you know how stubborn she can be once she sets her sights on something. There's no stopping her."

They fell silent as Seiya-in tight black jeans, a red t-shirt, and a black jacket slung over his shoulder-ran back through the room and out the door with a hurried "I'll be back later, don't wait up!"

The remaining two Starlights dispersed back to their own rooms, leaving Kakyuu Staring after Seiya, a contemplative expression on her face. After a few minutes, she sighed. "Forgive me, Fighter," she murmured before settling on the floor, meditating as she put her plan into action.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everybody! Thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, follows, etc! They mean a lot :))

Kataomoi no Koibito: Thanks! As for why it might be familiar, I had this same story posted a year or so ago, and it was pretty similar. You might have read some of it back then. But this one's gonna end up a lot different ^^

Disclaimer: I don't have an artistic bone in my body, therefore, I can't own Sailor Moon. -sob-

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Chapter Two

~Usagi~

"Usagi! You sound like a herd of elephants up there!" Mama yelled up the stairs.

"Gomen, Mama!" I called back distractedly as I paced my room. I glanced in the mirror again as I passed by, my hands reaching down to smooth down my dress and tighten the belt for the millionth time. When I realized what I was doing, I groaned and facepalmed. "It's just Seiya, calm yourself," I muttered under my breath.

Luna looked on in amusement. "Problem, Usagi-chan?" she inquired with a flick of her tail.

I stuck my tongue out. "No, I'm just waiting on a friend. I'm not really sure why I agreed to this..." I shrugged and glanced at the clock; 7:57. "He should be here any minute now."

She cocked her head to the side. "Is it Seiya?"

I shrugged again, avoiding looking at her. "It might be," I mumbled.

Luna sighed wearily. "Usagi-chan..."

Whatever she said next was drowned out by Mama calling for me. I grinned, blowing a kiss at Luna and running downstairs.

Sliding down the banister earned me a semi-annoyed look from Papa before he sighed and kissed the top of my head. "Have fun tonight, Bunny."

"I will, Papa!" I assured him before running to the kitchen. "Hai, Mama?"

"You're date is here, sweetheart," she replied, smiling at me from the sink where she was washing dishes.

"Mama!" I whined, blushing slightly, "I've already told you, it's not a date! We're just going out as friends!"

She just grinned and waggled her eyebrows at me. "That's how your father and I started out, you know."

I smirked over at her. "Yeah, well things have changed in the last fifty or so years-hey!" I exclaimed, laughing as I dodged the soap she had flicked at me.

"Brat," she said affectionately.

I dashed over and kissed her cheek, jumping back to avoid the soapy hug she tried to give me. "Ja ne!"

Ducking past Papa (who yelled, "Be back by midnight!") and a teasing Shingo, I made it out the door and shut it quietly, sighing softly and leaning my forehead against the door.

A chuckle from behind me made me jump and spin around.

"Ohayo, Odango," Seiya said, grinning from ear to ear. "Ready for our date?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "This isn't a date, Sei-baka."

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Ok, ok." He offered me his arm with a sauve grin. "Milady?"

Laughing, I latched onto his arm and we headed off to begin our night out.

~Tsukino Home~

Ikuko sighed happily as she watched her daughter walk off arm in arm with the young man. Kenji walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around his wife.

"They look happy, don't they?" Ikuko noted with a big smile. "She's been so sad recently..."

Kenji nodded thoughtfully, trying not to go to his immediate 'I hate all of my daughter's potential boyfriends' mood. "He... seems okay," he relented.

As the younger couple disappeared from view, Ikuko laughed and turned to face her husband. "Do you still remember our first date?" she asked teasingly.

He smiled softly and replied, "Hai." He kissed her forehead softly before stepping away. "You were just as crazy then as you are now!" With that, he ran out of the room with his wife, brandishing her everpresent wooden spoon threateningly, right behind him.

~Seiya~

"So what exactly are we doing tonight?" Usagi asked, glancing up at me with a smile.

I grinned happily. "I was thinking we could stop by this new club downtown, then we could go see a movie. Is that okay with you?" I stared as her teeth grazed her plump, shell pink bottom lip gently as she thought. I could almost feel how soft they would feel against mine-

"Seiya?"

I blinked, averting my eyes. I blushed at being caught staring, then even more so when I realized we had stopped walking. "G-gomen, what?"

She nudged me with her shoulder. "I said Papa wants me home at midnight, so we might not catch the whole movie."

"H-hai, that's fine," I said, picking up the pace towards the club.

A couple minutes passed and we were there. Pulling gently on Usagi's hand, I led her through the crowd of people waiting around the get inside.

When she caught sight of the bouncer, she tugged slightly on my hand. "Seiya, don't you think we should wait back there in line? I mean, these people were here firs-"

She was interrupted when the man exclaimed, "Seiya-san! I was wondering when you were going to make it back! And with such a lovely lady, too!"

I shot Usagi a smirk before turning to the man. "Ohayou, Kenta-san! I just wanted to bring my friend here along and show her around."

He nodded with a knowing smirk that had Usagi poking me sharply in the back. "Of course, go right on in," he said, undoing the velvet rope and ushering us inside.

"So... What do we do now?" Usagi asked hesitantly, taking in the huge number of people in the club with wide eyes.

"Silly, we dance!"

Her eyes widened adorably and she protested,"Nani?! No, Seiya, I can't-"

I placed a finger on her lips, absentmindedly noting that they were softer than I had thought, and said, "Just follow my lead, Odango. It's fun, I promise!"

She bit her lip again - 'Does she know what she's doing to me?' - before grasping my offered hand. I pulled her out into the center of the writhing mass of dancers, placing my arms around her waist and smiling when she put hers around my neck. I moved closer to her, pulling her flush against me, and started swaying to the music.

~Usagi~

'I can't belive I'm doing this...!'

I moved almost robotically at first, then a glance at Seiya's teasing, almost challenging, expression, hardened my resolve, and I started copying his movements, growing more confident as the seconds ticked by.

I slung my head back and laughed, one of the first real laughs in what felt like forever. Seiya and I had been dancing for an hour, and I was having the time of my life.

As if reading my thoughts, Seiya leaned over and shouted over the music, "See? Didn't I tell you you'd have fun?" He grinned and pulled me closer, moving to the fast-paced music.

Rolling my eyes and laughing, I tripped him and nearly stumbled to the floor on top of him. Grinning at his indignant expression, I slipped off into the crowd to get away from any potential revenge he might think up. 'This is so much fun! Mamo-chan never took me places like this!'

I paused and my smile fell a little. 'Mamo-chan...' I buried my face in my hands. "What am I doing?" I muttered.

"Gotcha!" Strong arms latched around my waist from behind and Seiya spun me around. He frowned when he saw my face. "Odango? Are you ok?"

"H-hai..." I breathed. "But, um... could we-could we go catch the movie now? I'm getting tired."

He pulled me into a one-armed hug and nodded. Moments later, we were out on the sidewalk in the crisp evening air. I shivered.

"Here, Usagi, take this." He slid his jacket on my shoulders, and I huddled into it, shooting him a thankful smile.

We walked the few blocks to the theatre laughing and teasing each other. By the time we got our tickets and popcorn, I wasn't feeling so bad about being out with Seiya. 'After all, he knows I love Mamo-chan, and he agreed we were just out as friends.' As the previews flashed over the screen, I happily munched on the popcorn, hungry from all the dancing. All too soon, my hand hit the bottom of the carton.

"Pssst! Seiya!" I whisper-yelled, nudging him with my elbow. He looked over and I held up the empty container.

His eyes widened. "Nani?! We just sat down, Odango!"

I pouted. "But I was hungry! Will you please go get some more?" I widened my eyes hopefully.

He grumbled and poked my stomach, mouthing 'Where does it all go?' before getting up and taking the carton. I kicked his butt for the comment and giggled when he yelped and stumbled down the steps.

"Arigatou!"

~Seiya~

"Bottemless pit," I mumbled to myself as I made my way to the counter. Setting the carton down, I grinned sheepishly at the cashier and asked for a refill.

"You're here with Usagi-chan, aren't you?" she laughed. "I see her and her friends in here all the time. This one might be a record though." She motioned to the container.

"I'll be sure and pass that on to her," I said with a smirk. As I waited for her to get the popcorn, I bent over to look at the candy display. 'I wonder what Odango would want...'

Before I could get a chance to choose, a wave of nausea rolled over me, making me dizzy. Groaning, I straightened grabbed the counter for support. Just as quickly as it came, though, it passed. Not thinking to much into it, I glanced back at the cashier, who was glancing at me oddly from the corner of her eyes. I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

She frowned then shook her head. "Gomen... you just look really familiar..."

I winced slightly, hoping she wouldn't be able to place my face. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

She looked at me a little longer before shrugging and handing me the popcorn. "Oh well. Enjoy the movie!"

I waved and headed back toward the screening room. On my way back, I passed by the games and the mirrors that covered a portion of the walls. Out of habit, I checked my hair in the glass... and dropped the popcorn.

The reflection that I had grown so used to in the months I've spent on earth, the one of the broad-shouldered, lithe figure of Seiya, wasn't the one that stared back at me.

No. The person staring back at me was slightly shorter, slimmer... rounder.

I blinked...

And Sailor Star Fighter blinked back at me.

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Haha, bet you all saw that coming, didn't you? ;P Let me know what you think!:) Ja ne


	3. Chapter 3

Ohayou! Thanks so, so much for reviewing and following/favoriting my story! Really means a lot and brightens my day -happy dance- So here's the next chapter; I'm not sure I'm very happy with this one... Ehh.

Kataomoi no Koibito: Thanks for pointing that out ^^ I try to catch as many errors as I can when I go back and read over it, but I don't have a spellcheck on my program, so I always miss some :p And it's entirely possible that we do ;) haha I honestly have no clue XD

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Disclaimer: 11:11 has failed me yet again, still don't own Sailor Moon...

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Chapter Three

"N-Nani?!" I whispered. I reached out and touched the mirror, flinching when the woman before me copied me.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

Ignoring the girl from the counter, I took off in a run towards the bathroom. I slammed the door shut behind me and gripped the sides of the sink. Taking a deep breath, I raised my face to the mirror.

Cobalt blue eyes surrounded by thick lashes peered at me from a thin, slightly angular face. My cheekbones were more prounounced, and my lips were fuller. I buttoned my jacket with shaky, delicate hands to hide the fact that my shirt no longer fit me like it was supposed to.

My mind was racing. 'What the hell happened?!' Groaning, I ran my hand through my hair, messing up my ponytail. Out of habit, I took the band off and carded my fingers through it, ridding it of tangles. That familiar action calmed me down enough for me not to go with my first instinct: get the hell out of there and back to the apartment, where Kakyuu and undoubtedly the answer to this mess waited for me.

But I couldn't do that... Not with Odango waiting for me. Sighing wearily, I pulled my hair back into my usual low ponytail, straightened my jacket, hoping it would be enough to keep Usagi from being too suspicious, and left the bathroom.

The girl from before looked up at me from where she was cleaning up the mess as I entered the lobby again, looking like she wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or worried about me. I walked over to where she was cleaning up the mess. "I'm really sorry about that, I don't know what came over me," I said, kneeling down next to her and flashing her the smile that always made my fans swoon. "I could clean that up for you."

Her eyes widened and she blushed slightly. "I-Iie, I can get it. After all, that's what they pay me for." She grinned and pointed over to the counter. "I got you another box of popcorn while you were in the bathroom. I figure Usagi-chan will be annoyed that you kept her waiting, and you having to face her hungry wrath is more than enough payback for this mess in my book." She giggled when my eyes widened.

I stuck my tongue out at her, then laughed and thanked her before grabbing the popcorn and running back to the screening room. Jogging up the steps, I smiled sheepishly at the people shooting me annoyed glares for interrupting the movie. Finally, I plopped down next to Usagi and offered her the carton, swallowing nervously.

She looked at me with a raised brow. "Took you long enough," she commented. "The movie's been going for almost ten minutes."

"There was a line," I shot back, sticking my tongue out and adjusted my jacket to lay more loosely over my chest. She just giggled and tossed some popcorn at me, getting a glob of butter in my bangs.

This, of course, meant war.

I snatched a handful of popcorn and started tossing pieces, one by one, into her face.

"Argh! Seiya!" she whispered, batting the food away as she tried to scowl.

"Shhhh!" A lady behind us gave us an intimidating glare, looking pointedly at her younger children who were trying to watch the movie around our fight.

"Gomen!" we chorused together in a whisper, stifling our laughter as we turned back to the movie.

The movie went on for a few more minutes, but I couldn't get interested in it when I had a fidgeting blonde at my side. Glancing over curiously, I watched as Usagi frowned and shuffled around in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position. Finally, she gave up and crossed her arms with a slight pout. 'Honestly, does she do this on purpose?' I wondered as I tried not to stare at her mouth. Instead, I reached over and lifted the arm rest to give her more room. She grinned and moved over toward me, almost flush against my side, and brought her legs up under her in the seat.

'She HAS to be doing this on purpose!' I nearly groaned as she leaned against me and snuggled into my side. 'How can she not know the effect she has on me?'

I crossed my arms over my chest to keep from wrapping them around the petite figure beside me. Seconds ticked past...

To keep myself busy, I munched on popcorn and tried to keep as many kernels in my mouth as I could. After a few minutes - and a pretty cheesy scene from the movie - I was bored and had a mouthful of kernels with nothing to do...

I glanced down at Odango again. She seemed pretty engrossed in the movie; she laughed or sighed or made an angry noise at the screen every now and then. Sighing to myself, I moved the kernels around in my mouth. Then a thought hit me and an evil grin spread across my face.

Leaning away from Usagi slightly, I turned my face toward her... and spit one of the kernels at her head

She flinched and her eyes widened as she whipped around to face me. By this time, I was looking at the screen innocently. She glanced around a bit, then shrugged and turned back to the movie. After a few seconds, I spit another one at her.

"Argh!" she groaned, wiping at her hair. "What is that?!"

I stared straight ahead, choking my laughter back. I glanced over at her and raised a brow at her expression. "Something wrong?" I asked innocently.

She glared suspiciously at me. "No..."

I gave it a few more minutes before I tried it again. When I did, something funny had just happened in the movie, and the whole theater was laughing. I spit the kernel at Usagi...

...and it landed in her mouth.

"ARGH! Seiya!" she screamed, nearly gagging on the offending object. She reached over and tugged on my ponytail harshly. "Baka! What are you doing?" I grinned over at her as she tried in vain to look angry.

Someone to my left cleared their throat. "Excuse me."

As one, Odango and I turned towards the voice: it was an usher with a stern expression on his face.

"I can't believe you got us kicked out of the movie!" Usagi laughed gleefully, still giggling over how the guy had acted when we didn't appear sorry enough for disrupting the movie.

"Me?!" I protested. "You're the one who was yelling like a banshee!" She gasped through her giggles and punched me in the arm none too lightly. "Ite..." I muttered, rubbing the sore spot with a wounded expression. "Geez, Odango, I can't help it if you have a shrill voice," I teased.

"Why you- " she spluttered, then ran after me, my laughter and her threats echoing in the quiet night air.

Sooner than I would have liked, we turned up in front of Usagi's house. I tugged at the sleeves on my jacket nervously. "Well... Here we are." I kicked at the ground slightly.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said softly, peering up at me from under her bangs. Suddenly, she tackled me, wrapping her arms around my waist tightly. I froze; the last thing I needed right now was for her to realize something was different. "I had a really good time tonight." Hesitantly, I returned the hug.

"So did I," I whispered into her hair, inhaling the scent of vanilla mixed with some kind of berry. "We should definitely do it again."

She let go and took a step back, crossing her arms and biting her lip. "Well..." Then she grinned and her eyes lit up. "You do owe me an entire movie, since you got us kicked out." She reached over and poked my stomach.

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "This is true..." I smiled widely at her.

Laughing, she walked up her front steps and opened the door. "Goodnight, Seiya."

"Night, Odango."

She stepped in and shut the door softly behind her, leaving me out in the soft glow of the streetlight. I sighed and my smile melted into a deep scowl as I started the walk back home to see why the hell I had reverted back to my female form.

~Usagi~

I leaned up against the door with a goofy grin on my face. Tonight had been exactly what I had needed: a night away from senshi duties, away from attacks. A night to be a normal teenager.

"That is so not the look someone has after hanging out with someone who is 'just a friend,' dear." Mama stood at the bottom of the stairs in her robe, a knowing smile on her face.

I groaned and pushed myself off the door. "Mama!"

She held up her hands in surrender. "I just thought I'd let you know." Walking over, she placed a kiss on my forehead. "By the way, your papa was very impressed that Seiya got you home before your curfew. And you know how hard it is for a boy to impress your father."

I smirked. He probably wouldn't be too impressed if he knew why we hadn't stayed for the whole movie.

"Hai, Mama. Well, I think I'm going to go to sleep, good night!" I raced as quietly up the stairs as I could, only tripping twice (a new record) before I reached my room. Pushing the door open softly, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Luna already fast asleep, snoring away. I stripped and changed into shorts and an old t-shirt before slipping beneath my covers, relishing in the soft coolness as I drifted off to sleep with a contented smile on my face.

As soon as Usagi had stopped shuffling around, Luna lifted her head and regarded her princess with a serious gaze. Shaking her head, she muttered something about 'teenagers' and 'children' before curling back up into a ball with a sigh.

~Starlights~

The front door of the apartment flew open to reveal an irate Seiya. Slamming it shut behind her, she glared around the room before zeroing in on her target.

"Kakyuu-hime," she said with a voice much calmer than would be expected.

The redhead in question looked up from her book. "Ah, Fighter. Back already? How was your date with Tsukino-san?" she asked innocently, hiding a victorious smile at her Starlight's decidedly feminine voice.

Eyes burning, Seiya replied, "Oh, you know, it was fantastic! We went to the club and danced for a while before we went to see a movie, then I turned into a girl and we had to leave early. The usual." She bared her teeth before grinding out, "Do you, by any chance, have anything you'd like to tell me about?"

Kakyuu tilted her head and smiled sadly. "I knew you'd be angry at me," she murmured softly, "and I am sorry. But right now, you have more important things to focus on than Tsukino Usagi. Even if we weren't in the middle of an important mission, you know there are too many factors that would prevent anything working between you two."

Seiya clenched her fists at her side. "I can handle this, I know I can! Why would you do this to me? You allow Taiki and Yaten to keep their forms, and they each feel something for a girl here as well!" By the end, Seiya's even tone had given way to an angry yell.

Kakyuu watched her impassively. "Fighter,there is no need to be so loud. You know perfectly well why I did nothing to them: they haven't acted on their feelings because they understand the consequences."

She didn't answer, instead glaring at the floor stubbornly.

Sighing, Kakyuu stood up from her seat and walked over to her Starlight, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Please understand: I love each of you and I only want to see you happy, but I fear that if you keep seeing her, you will grow more attached and lose focus." She smiled sadly and dropped her hands. "I know that you're mad at me now, but I think, in time, you will appreciate this."

With that, she grabbed her book from the side table and walked back to her room, leaving her bewildered soldier behind to think.

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And there you go ^^ Let me know what you think if you have the time:)


	4. Chapter 4

I kinda feel like an idiot for not mentioning this earlier, but this story takes place early-ish in the Stars arc. Instead of Kakyuu hiding in the incense burner away from Galaxia, I had the Starlights take her to Earth so she could recuperate and help locate the Kibo no Hikari. Hope that clears up any confusion!

And sorry for not updating sooner like I said I would... I've been working on a big research paper for English and I have a bunch of state tests coming up, so updates might not be that frequent...

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Kataomoi no Koibito: Haha female Seiya is my favorite :D She doesn't show up much here, but she'll be in the next chapter with Usagi ;D

Luna Goddess of the Night Sky: Thanks for the advice :) I'm always open to suggestions on improving my writing. I've tried to implement some of your advice in this chapter, sorry in advance if I missed something.

sweetdorka: I really hope the note at the top cleared up some stuff for you, I feel kinda dumb for leaving something as important as that explanation out of the earlier chapters... Sorry for the confusion!

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Disclaimer: Nope.

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Chapter Four

~Usagi~

"Which one do you think, Luna?" Usagi asked, holding up two shirts.

"You do realize that you will have to talk to me about this eventually, yes?" the cat replied lazily, tail swishing back and forth as she lay on the blonde's pillow.

Said blonde rolled her eyes. "Yes, I think the blue one looks better, too. Thanks for your help." She stuck her tongue out and slipped into her outfit for the day.

"Usagi-chan..."

Usagi paused in brushing her hair and sighed. "Luna, I promise that nothing happened. Besides, we're just friends. I just needed a night to relax, and that's it." With that, she resumed pulling her long golden hair up into her usual odango style. As she did so, she hummed along with the radio, which happened to be playing a song from the Three Lights.

Luna dropped the subject, knowing first-hand exactly how stubborn her princess could be. "What are our plans today?"

"I think we're supposed to meet up with the others at the Parlor in... five minutes ago..." she trailed off, glancing at the alarm clock by her eyes.

Luna sweat-dropped.

"Of course..." Usagi muttered to herself. She dropped her brush on the dresser and scooped Luna into her arms before taking off out the door.

~Sol Senshi~

"She's late again," Rei stated in annoyance, swirling the straw in her drink.

Ami glanced up from her book, pushing her glasses up. "I'm sure she'll be here soon, Rei-chan."

Sure enough, the bell on the door jingled, and they all looked up to see Usagi barreling towards them. "Gomen, mina! I must have overslept again!" She plopped down next to Makoto, who gave her an amused grin.

"Are you ever not late, Usagi-chan?" she teased, poking the smaller girl in the side. "Here, we ordered your milkshake." She pushed a large glass towards the blonde, who accepted it with shining eyes and a wide smile.

"Now that we're all here," Rei stated, shooting Usagi a pointed look the blonde chose to ignore, "we can get down to business. Ami, have you been successful in your research?"

The blue haired girl placed her book on the table with a thoughtful expression. "I haven't been able to figure out exactly what Iron Mouse has been after, but I've been looking more into the starseeds." She pulled her computer from her purse and opened it, clacking away on the keys. "Luna and Artemis got me access to the main computer in the old moon palace, and this is what I've pulled up..."

They all crowded around the tiny screen and looked at the data.

After a few minutes silence, Minako frowned thoughtfully. "So... these starseeds are basically what keeps a person alive?"

"That's putting it simply, but yes. Every person has one, but they seem to vary in strength. In the old Sailor Wars, enemies would take the starseeds of the exceptionally powerful and use them to make themselves stronger. Those who lost their starseeds would just... fade away."

The girls all shuddered slightly, and Usagi felt a deep dread in the pit of her stomach. _Why does that seem familiar..._

"Did that ever happen to the people from the Moon Kingdom?" Makoto questioned.

Ami sighed in frustration, closing her computer firmly. "I don't know. The computerized archives only hold so much; Luna told me they were in the process of coverting everything when the attack on the kingdom happened. If we could gain access to the original archives, I'm positive that they would tell us more."

At this, Minako's face lit up. "Ooo, ooo, I know what we can do!" She bounced up and down in her seat. "Artemis said that there's a way to get to the palace! It's a different version of the sailor teleport!"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "And when did he tell you this?"

"When I asked him if there was a way to get to my palace a few years back."

"..." Everyone stared at Minako like she had grown a second head.

Finally, Makoto cleared her throat. "You have your own palace?"

This time, it was Minako's turn to look surprised. "We all do!" She scratched her head with a sheepish look. "Did I forget to tell you about them...?"

Usagi giggled at her friends' bewildered expressions. "I think you might have, Mina-chan."

"Heh heh... Gomen..."

Rei, unabled to contain herself, leans over the table and demands, "Tell us already! We each have a palace? Where are they? Where did they come from? Are they in ruins like the Moon Palace was?"

Minako held her hands up in surrender. "Yes, we each have a palace; they were given to us by Queen Selenity when we were born because we were the guardians of those planets and Princess Serenity. They each orbit our planets, and they should be fine now after Usagi used to the crystal against Beryl."

"Well, then." Rei slumped back in her seat. "What's this about a way to get to the moon?"

"Last time we ended up at the palace because the crystal guided us there*, but Artemis says that the Senshi have always had the ability to teleport directly into the palace because of their tie to the royal family. He explained the details to me, but I'm a little fuzzy on them."

Ami stared off into the distance, a delighted smile on her face. "We will definitely have to get that information from him. Just think, a whole library of unknown information on the moon, just waiting to be accessed..." She sighed dreamily, and her friends snickered at her.

Usagi pushed her empty glass away from her and stood up to stretch. "We can go meet them now; Luna said something about him being in the park before she ran off to wherever it is she spends her days." She tilted her head, wondering exactly what it was her friend did when she was away, then shrugged. _I guess it's not really any of my business..._

"Let's go then!" Ami exclaimed, jumping out of her chair and hurrying towards the door, gesturing impatiently for the others to follow her.

Everyone else just laughed and trailed behind slowly.

Sailor Iron Mouse growled. Galaxia-sama had been getting more impatient in regards to finding true starseeds, and she had implied that failure this time would not be tolerated. _But who do I target?_ she mused, sorting through several photographs that lay before her. She paused when she came across a picture of a teen actress: she had waist length brown hair and green eyes that glowed with happiness. Drumming her fingers on her desk, Iron Mouse grinned, baring her teeth at the photo. "Himeno Inoue... Your bright shine should be perfect for Galaxia-sama."

~Starlights~

Yaten sighed to himself as he watched Seiya continue to glare at her reflection. He had been a little surprised when Seiya had walked in the kitchen this morning in her female form. He assumed Kakyuu had something to do with it if Seiya's unsubtle death glares were anything to go by. Kakyuu, fully aware of the dark haired girl's animosity, had only stayed in the apartment long enough to grab breakfast before she headed off to the park to enjoy the sunny weather.

Deciding he didn't want to wait for his princess to come back before he got an explanation, Yaten walked over and leaned against the wall by Seiya. "What happened?" he asked bluntly.

Seiya paused in her grumbling and looked him in the eye; he was surprised by the sadness that hid beneath her anger. "Kakyuu decided that Usagi-chan is too big of a distraction for me, and turned me back into my female form in the middle of our date last night." She kicked angrily at the wall, looking down at the floor. "She doesn't trust me... to not do something stupid."

Knowing now would not be the ideal time, the silver haired teen bit back the smart comment that threatened to come out, instead saying, "Maybe... maybe you should just stay away from Tsukino-san for a wh-" He couldn't even finish the sentence for Seiya's evil death glare. "Ahem. Never mind..."

Seiya crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the offending curves. "I can't even hang out with her anymore..."

Yaten observed her in silence. _She seems really torn over this..._ He bit his lip. Knowing he would probably regret this later, he spoke up. "I think I might be able to help you."

* * *

A bit short, but I wanted to get something up. It's a little bit of a filler, but I think it sets up a lot of what happens in the next chapter, so it needed to be done ^^ Tell me what you think if you have the chance :)

*From what I understood, the first time the senshi ended up on the moon, it wasn't exactly planned out. Even if it was, it wasn't in this story.


	5. Chapter 5

Ohayou, mina! Sorry for the late update (I had intended to have this up 3 days ago)! But I went to save the changes to this chapter, and I lost all my progress (EVERY SINGLE TIME!) T^T So this isn't as good as the original, but I tried... haha hope you enjoy ^^

Artemis the Moon Maiden: Yay! I'm glad you like :D haha and I'm not a really big Mamo-chan fan. I don't really like him, but maybe it's just because he seems a bit too old and mature and distant for Usagi (I could go off on a whole rant, but I'll cut it off there ^^). And ChibiUsa... Well, it depends, really. For the most part, I like her, and I'm trying to figure out whether I should incorporate her into this fic somehow. And I'm glad you like her mom :D She might be my favorite character to write, and I've got a little surprise regarding her coming later in the story ;D

Kataomoi no Koibito: Why, of course ^-^

sweetdorka: I'm glad that got rid of confusion! Haha and in here, Kakyuu is just looking out for her good friend, even if her attempts to do so are a bit... misguided :)

Luna Goddess of the Night Sky: Thank youuuu :D Really glad you liked!

One more thing: in the last chapter, Iron Mouse's target was supposed to be a famous photographer, not an actress. Oops. ^^

* * *

~Scouts~

The five girls walked through the park purposefully, laughing and chatting amongst themselves as they kept an eye out for Artemis.

"Ooo look!" Usagi exclaimed. "That stand is selling gyuhi!" Jumping up and down, she clasped her hands and looked at the others with wide eyes. "Can we stop and get some?"

Ami bit her lip, glancing back at the stall and then further on into the park. "Well..."

"Usagi-chan, you just ate!" Rei told her, rolling her eyes.

"I know... but they're _so_ good! Please?" she begged.

"Why don't you get a couple and catch up with us?" Makoto suggested, grinning at Ami's anxious expression.

"Hai!" she called, already running for the stall.

Exchaning glances, the girls all smiled and continued on their search for the white cat.

Deeper into the park, stretched out lazily on a patch of grass, lay said cat. His eyes were half closed and his tail twitched slightly as he soaked in the warm sun. Anyone who happened to see him might think he were perfectly at ease.

They would be wrong.

Despite his blank expression as he watched a bird hop around nearby, his mind was otherwise occupied.

_I love her, and I'll never be anything more than a close friend_, he mused, tilting his head. _If anything, she sees me as a mentor more than anything. Of course, if I weren't a cat, things would be so much less complicated._

His thoughts were interrupted when four teenagers spotted him and started running towards him. Shaking himself and standing up, Artemis met them halfway and allowed Minako to scoop him up into her arms so he could climb to his favorite spot on her shoulders. Glancing around, he noticed that Luna was nowhere to be seen. _She's probably off looking for him_, he thought. Sighing, he asked, "What's going on girls? Trouble?"

Minako reaching up and ran her fingers through the thick fur behind his ears, causing him to pur lowly. "No trouble, we've actually come to ask you some questions. I seem to have forgotten to tell the girls about their castles, and I let it slip earlier." She scratched her head sheepishly.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to that," Artemis laughed, wheezing slightly when he received a poke to the stomach.

"Ami-chan has some questions about how to get to the Moon Palace so she can get a hold of the old archives, and I thought you'd be the best at explaining it."

He nodded. "Sure, fire away."

~Usagi~

"Domo arigato!" I thanked the man behind the counter, and he smiled sweetly at me. I unwrapped the gyuhi and bit into it, sighing happily. "Delicious..."

I walked around for a bit, trying to find the girls._ I was just at the stand for a few minutes... they can't be far._ As I looked around, I didn't notice someone right in front of me, and I rammed right into them, falling to the ground. "Ite..." I mumbled, rubbing my head.

"Oh, wow, I'm so sorry! I was lost in my own little world, I guess. Here, let me help you up."

I looked up and saw a beautiful woman with long, fiery red hair. She reached down and grasped my hand, easily pulling me to my feet. "Arigato," I said, dusting the dirt off me pants. "Gomen, I wasn't paying attention either." I smiled, and she grinned back. "My name's Usagi."

Her eyes widened slightly, and she tilted her head curiously. "I'm Kaoru*," she said. "Sorry about your food..."

"Nani?" I glanced down, then pouted. My gyuhi sat in the dirt by my feet. "Aww..."

"I can buy you another-" She was interrupted by a loud piercing scream to our left.

"That's ok, I'm good," I said in a rush. "Um... I-I've gotta go!" Before she could say anything else, I ran off towards the scream.

~Seiya~

I stared at my reflection skeptically. "This isn't going to work."

"Shut up, baka, and keep your arms straight up! I have to finish wrapping this!" Yaten poked me sharply in the side, grinning vindictively when I yelped. He continued to circle around me, wrapping some gauze tightly around my chest.

"I just... I really don't see how this will work," I whined again, fidgeting slightly.

"With you, it'll be perfect. Now, if you actually _had_ breasts, this would be a problem." He laughingly dodged my half-hearted aim for his head, wrapping away. I mumbled under my breath at him, but stood still so he could finish up. Soon, he pinned the end of the gauze to the rest of it and handed me a loose t-shirt. Slipping it over my head, I turned around and surveyed the results.

"I think that'll do," Yaten said, eyeing me critically. "It should hold as long as you and Tsukino-san don't do anything too... _physical_." He waggled his eyebrows at me.

"Y-Yaten! Hentai!" I yelled, chasing him out of the room, shutting the door once he was in the hallway. "Arigato!" I yelled through the door, laughing at the indignant spluttering noises coming from his direction.

I glanced back at my reflection: my chest was bound flat, so my curves weren't as noticable as before. I was still slightly shorter and my face was a bit more angular, but I couldn't do anything about that.

I grinned nervously at myself. Here goes nothing...

Walking out of my room, I wandered into the living room where Yaten and Taiki were arguing over who go the television. "I'm gonna go see Odango, I'll be-"

My Star Yell vibrated slightly, cutting me off midsentence. I reached in my pocket and brought it up to my ear, the other two doing the same.

_"Fighter, Maker, Healer; there's an attack at the park. Come quickly."_ Our princess's voice flowed clearly through the speaker, and I could hear the screams in the background.

I nodded to the others.

_"Fighter Star Power..."_

_"Healer Star Power..."_

_"Maker Star Power..."_

_"MAKE UP!"_

A bright light flashed through the apartment. When it disappeared, the three of us stood dressed in the fuku associated with our planet. Knowing they would follow, I left through the balcony, jumping the distance between there and the ground easily, and ran towards the park.

~Usagi~

I quickly lost sight of Kaoru as I ran closer to where the scream came from. I ducked behind a clump of trees and, making sure I was out of sight of the panicking civilians, threw my hand in the air and yelled, _"Moon Eternal, make up!"_ In a flash of light and feathers, my fuku materialized, and I smiled slightly at the rush of power I always felt when I transformed.

I had to fight my way through the running crowd, and when I did, I was greeted by an unfortunately familiar sight.

Iron Mouse stood near a young girl, laughing vindictively. The girl lay cowering on the ground, looking around for some kind of escape. As Iron Mouse began to move closer, I yelled, "Stop!"

The white-clad senshi looked around wildly for a few seconds. When she caught sight of me, she just scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Please! I'm in the middle of important business, I don't have time to play with you right now. Maybe later!" With that, she turned back towards the girl. "Now _you_! Surrender your Star Seed to me!" She brought her bracelets together and two golden, razor-edged disks of energy flew from the gems, morphing together and embedding themselves in the the girl's chest, causing her to scream and her eyes to go blank as a bright yellow blossom appeared above her forehead. It opened to reveal a glowing Star Seed.

Iron Mouse giggled eagerly. "Yes! This is the one for sure!"

Suddenly, the Seed gave one last feeble glow before it dulled, covered in an inky blackness as its owner fell to her knees with a thud.

"Damn! Not again!" she whined. Whirling around, she glared at me. "You! I don't know how, but I _know_ you had something to do with this!" She pointed her bracelets at me, readying to attack. Before she could, a phone booth materialized behind her, the phone ringing ominously. "G-Galaxia-sama..." the senshi stammered fearfully. Instead of getting in the booth and answering the phone, she backed away from it, shooting me another glare. "This isn't over!" she yelled before sprinting away.

I stared after her, confused, before focusing my attention on the newly formed phage. She had long green hair, grey skin, camera lenses for eyes, and a large 35 mm camera in her hands.

"Sailor Portrait!" she yelled in a loud, obnoxious voice. Pointing the camera at me, she called out, "Say cheese!" She clicked the shutter and I yelped, diving out of the path of the bright blue beam of electricity that shot from the lens.

The phage tsked and said, "Now that pose won't do. Retake!"

I dodged again and again, unable to heal the phage until someone else weakened it first._ Where the hell are my scouts? They should have been here by now!_

Suddenly, rythmic snapping echoed through the air. Caught off guard, I whirled arouund, trying to see over my wing.

There, standing on the branches of a nearby tree, stood the Starlights. "Three shooting stars... shining lights breaking through the darkness... Sailor Star Lights, stage on!"

Slightly distracted, I didn't notice Sailor Portrait taking aim until she had fired the shot. This time, it hit me in the leg, and I fell down with a scream.

"_Star Serious Laser_!" A beam of golden light shot out from Sailor Star Fighter's weapon, hitting the phage and knocking her to the ground. Fighter turned to me, raising her eyebrow. "I believe it's your turn," she stated boredly.

Slowly, I flinchingly stood up, leaning heavily on my good leg. Grabbing my scepter, I drew it in front of me and cried out, "_Silver moon_…" Feathers whirled around me and the tip of the rod began to glow in golden light. "_Crystal power kiss_!" Shooting out of the rod, the light bathed the phage in a golden glow. The light abated and Sailor Portrait was surrounded by a whirlwind of feathers. "Beautiful!" Then the feathers were gone, and in the place of the phage was the girl from before, who collapsed on her knees when her Star Seed reentered her.

I smiled slightly at seeing the phage back to normal. I turned back to Fighter and the others, each of whom were watching me with guarded expressions. "Arigato."

Healer frowned. "We didn't do it for you. We did it because our princess believes it to be the right thing to do."

At this, my expression fell. "Why can't we work together? I know we can defeat this enemy if we just try to help each other!"

Maker opened her mouth to object. "What happens on this planet is hardly of concern to us. We are here to find something of importance to us, and once we've found it, we'll be on our way." Without another word, the three of them turned, leaping into the air and vanishing from sight.

Sighing sadly, I released my transformation, the light doing little to soothe my emotions. _One of these days, I will convince them and everyone to work together._ And with that, I walked off in search of my senshi.

In my haste and distracted state, I didn't notice a woman with fiery red hair staring after me with wide eyes.

* * *

And that's chapter five! Again, sorry it took me so long to get it out :p Hope you enjoyed, and tell me what you think:)


	6. Chapter 6

Hi again! Despite the valiant efforts of my teachers, end of the year homework, and final exams-I'm not dead! :O But I am very sorry about the lack of updates. So much stuff going on *sigh*. Now that school's over, I will hopefully be able to write more on my stories. But... I might not be able to update as often, because I'm headed up to stay with my aunt for the summer, and she would probably have a coronary if she knew I was writing these stories (both are slash, and one's Harry Potter). Since I can update on my phone though, expect random updates of 2-4 chapters on the same day, but update days pretty far apart. Until then, though, I'm trying to get the whole story planned out to the end.

Anywho...

Kataomoi no Koibito: Just slightly ^^ I kinda surprised myself with that ending, to be honest... it was not in my outline ^^;

sweetdorka: thanks, lovely! :D

I always seem to forget things... In the last chapter, I had a couple things *ed. Or maybe just the one, now that I'm looking back... I had Kakyuu introduce herself as Kaoru. I wanted her to have a civilian name on the not-so-off-chance that Sailor Moon meets Kakyuu as the Starlights' princess. So I chose Kaoru, which can be interpreted as meaning 'fragrance.' I thought it was fitting ^^

Chapter Six

* * *

Limping slightly, Usagi walked through the park, searching for her scouts. She couldn't find them anywhere, and she was certain she was in the right area... Unknown to her, the girls, after grilling Artemis for every piece of information he was willing to give, had grown tired of waiting for Usagi to show up and assumed she had gotten distracted by something else. In other words, they had left her alone in the park, each thinking she had already left herself.

Once she realized she wouldn't find them in the park, a dejected Usagi gingerly limped out of the park and headed home.

* * *

Back at the Starlight's apartment, Kakyuu had beaten the Lights home and was currently curled up in her favorite chair, contemplating what she had just witnessed.

_Tsukino Usagi, the girl Seiya is so infatuated with, is Sailor Moon..._ Raising an eyebrow, she came at it at another angle. _Sailor Moon, the scout my soldiers seem to despise, is Tsukino Usagi..._

Sighing in confusion, Kakyuu leaned back and closed her eyes. _From what I've heard of her, Tsukino is a sweet girl with a warm heart. And I trust Fighter's judgement of her character; she radiated such a warmth when I ran into her in the park... and she truly cared about the innocent who had gotten caught. Not to mention, she seems to have an incredible power to be able to restore the victims' Star Seeds..._

Just then, the door opened to reveal three arguing teens.

"I'm telling you, this Moon person is just a nuisance that will get in the way of our mission! We certainly don't need her help when we are more than capable of doing the job ourselves!" Yaten proclaimed proudly.

Taiki, slightly more reserved than his team-mate, "Hai, Seiya. You can't honestly suggest we consider allying with them?" His quiet voice held the tiniest hint of incredulity to those who knew him well; to anyone else, he would have sounded entirely bored with the whole conversation.

Seiya threw her hands up defensively. "Hey, I'm just saying it couldn't hurt to have some extra help. It's not like we're all that close to finding this Kibo no Hikari..." She trailed off when she noticed her princess's thoughtful gaze. "P-Princess Kakyuu... I didn't know you were home?" she stated questioningly.

Kakyuu just observed her soldiers silently. After a few seconds, she came to a decision and said, "Fighter... I want you to extend an invitation to Sailor Moon the next time you see her. Tell her I wish to meet with her and discuss the possibility of an alliance between my scouts and hers."

The three teens before her stared, dumbfounded. Yaten was the first to find his voice. "P-Princess... You can't be seriou-"

"I am perfectly serious," Kakyuu said firmly, a gentle smile on her face. "I believe, as Fighter was just saying, that perhaps we could do with some extra help."

Seiya shot the other two a playfully smug look. Taiki just shook his head slightly, while Yaten glared and stuck his tongue out childishly.

Kakyuu watched induldgently as her scouts began bickering playfully, hoping that she had made the right decision.

* * *

_~a few days later~_

_This, in a word, sucks..._ Usagi wandered down the sidewalk, thinking about her friends. _They've each been so busy with something that they don't have time for me._ She pouted slightly, feeling the tiniest bit abandoned. _And Mamo-chan still hasn't replied to any of the letters or messages I've left him..._ Her heart sank further with each step she took.

A few paces behind her, Seiya was walking on her way from school, just out enjoying the warm, breezy day. It was by chance that she spotted the blonde odango and the long ponytails trailing softly in the wind as they disappeared around a corner. She picked up the pace, a grin tilting her lips upward. "Hey, Odango!" she called, rounding the corner and catching up to the blonde. Glancing at her face, Seiya was shocked to see Usagi looking so depressed. "Odango, what's the matter?" she asked, placing her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders. "Did something happen?" Her thoughts flashed momentarily to Chibi-Chibi, wondering if she was ok.

Usagi, caught off gaurd, stuttered, "N-Nothing! I'm fine, see?" She gave an unconvincing smile that came out as more of a grimace.

Seiya frowned down at her. "You don't seem fine..." She bit her lip, not sure if she should push for information. Then she grinned, a thought hitting her. "I know just what will cheer you up, though. Did you hear about that carnival that came into town earlier this week?"

Usagi perked up. "Carnival?"

The black haired teen smirked, knowing she had her. "Yup! There's tons of rides, games, and food stands set up! Sounds fun, ne?" She melted inside at the huge smile Usagi sent her as the blonde latched onto her arm.

"It sounds perfect!"  
_~later~_  
"No fair!" Usagi whined. "I shook the table and loosened them up for you," she claimed with a pout, glancing covetously at the fluffy panda sitting securely in Seiya's arms.

Seiya just giggled - it was a _manly_ giggle! - and said, "I'm sure, Odango. You just can't admit that I'm more awesome than you are, therefore, I get the awesome prizes."

Rolling her eyes, Usagi scoffed. "Yeah, right, ya big lose- " She stopped, her eyes widening as she looked over his shoulder.

Confused, Seiya whipped her head around. "What? What are you looking at?" Then she felt a small tug, and before she could do anything, Usagi had taken her bear with a wink before running off. "Oi! I won that, gimme my bear back!"

Usagi just laughed as she ran as fast as she could, listening as Seiya tried to catch up with her. She glanced over her shoulder with glittering eyes, not watching where she was going.

Seiya was shaking his fist playfully at her before she skidded to a stop, eyes widening comically. "Odango! Watch out!"

"Yeah, like I'm falling for that one! Nice tr- AHH!"

The next thing Usagi knew, she was sitting on the ground, surrounded by stuffed animals and worried onlookers. She glanced over at Seiya, who had his hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.

"Ahem."

Usagi's eyes landed on the irate owner of the booth, who was glaring down at her with his hands on his hips.

"Eh heh heh... Gomen?" she said sheepishly.  
~o~  
Usagi stared at the gate, mortified.

Seiya finally collapsed in laughter. "I c-can't believe you got us k-kicked out of a carnival!"

Usagi kicked at him half-heartedly, still slightly flushed. "Shut up!" she whined. "It's your fault anyway! You should have told me that stand was there!"

Seiya looked up at her incredulously. "It- but you- I did!"

The blonde just sniffed, trying not to smile.

Getting up and dusting off, Seiya stuck her tongue out and glanced at her watch. "Now that you've done the impossible, how about we celebrate with a milkshake?" She took the shorter girl's beaming smile as a 'yes,' and they headed off to Crown Parlor.

After a few minutes, the two were sitting in a small booth, arguing just for the sake of arguing. The playful glint in Usagi's eyes had Seiya grinning, glad she had been able to cheer up her odango.

A waitress with long, curly brown hair walked up with a smile, taking out a pad and pen. "Ohayo! What can I get for you two today?"

Usagi beamed up at her friend. "Ohayo, Unazuki-chan! Can I please get two chocolate chip cookies, two brownies, and a vanilla milkshake?"

Seiya stared at the blonde. _Honestly, where does it all _go_?_ she wondered, taking in the blonde's small frame.

Unazuki just smiled and jotted down the order like it was an everyday occurence. _Which,_ Seiya mused,_ it probably was._ _They _do_ seem to be in here all the time..._ She shook her head and looked up at Unazuki, who was waiting for her to order. "Just a strawberry milkshake for me, please," she said with a smile. Nodding, Unazuki left them to put their order in.

Seiya listened as Usagi launched into a funny story about her and her friends, taking the opportunity to just look at her. Her odango were slightly loose from running around and then crashing into that cart. Her blue eyes shone brightly as she recounted her tale, and a happy smile graced her lips. Laughing with the blonde in front of her, she paused when she noticed a shadow falling over the table. Assuming it was Unazuki, back with their orders, Seiya opened her mouth to thank her, only to freeze at the unexpected voice that followed.

"Ohayo, Koneko-chan. Ohayo... Kou."

_No, no, no, no, no..._ Seiya chanted silently. Glancing up, her eyes landed on the very last person she wanted to see: a very pissed off Haruko Tenoh.

* * *

Annnnd there it is. Confrontations between Haruka and Seiya are my favorite ^^ And I'm working on the next chapter as you read this one, so hopefully it'll be up later tonight or tomorrow morning. :D

One more thing: this story has a lot of hits, but not many followers or favorites. Feel free to do either, I won't tell anyone! ^^


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the reviews, gorgeous...es ^^

* * *

"Tenoh." _No, no, no!_ Seiya barely refrained from banging her head on the table, wondering what god out there hated her so much. "What brings you here?"

Haruka had a carefully calm expression on her face as she slid her hands into her pockets. "I was just out driving. Came in to get a drink. Imagine my surprise... at seeing you two here. Together. Alone."

Usagi blushed slightly. "We just came in for a snack, we aren't doing anything!"

The tall blonde raised her eyebrows, the picture of innocent surprise. "I never said you were, koneko-chan." She paused, sending a genuine smile at Usagi. "I trust you too much to imply that about you."

_Huh. Maybe she's not going to be -_

"You, on the other hand," she turned to Seiya with an annoyed glare, "I wouldn't put anything past."

_Ah, there's the Haruka I know and hate._

Forcing a smile, the dark-haired teen said, "We just came back from the carnival down the road. We would have been able to eat there, but Odango here - ite!"

"I wanted to leave early, I was getting tired." Usagi flashed an innocent smile, looking for all the world like she _hadn't_ just kicked Seiya's shin so hard her eyes stung.

Rubbing her shin, Seiya stuck her tongue out at the blonde across the table from her, smiling when she winked cheekily back.

Haruka's eyes narrowed slightly. "Where are the others, Usagi-chan? I thought the five of you were inseparable."

Usagi stared down at her plate and mumbled something.

"What?"

With a sigh, she repeated, "They've all been busy with something. I haven't actually seen them outside of school for a couple days."

_So that's why she looked so depressed. Poor Odango._ Seiya reached across the table and placed her hand over Usagi's, squeezing slightly.

"Oh, I see. So you settled for Kou, then?" Haruka said, managing to convey her sorrow toward the one girl and insult the other at the same time.

Seiya stiffened in her seat, biting her tongue so hard she tasted blood. The only thing that kept her from going off on the annoying addition to their group was the gentle squeeze Usagi gave her hand.

Sensing the unmistakable tension in the air, Usagi changed the subject quickly. "So, Seiya-kun, that charity thing in Soka is coming up soon, right?"

Chuckling slightly at the obvious switch, she answered, "Hai, it's... next weekend, I think. Do you think you'll be able to make it?"

The petite girl slumped slightly. "I doubt it... I don't have a way to get there or anywhere to stay overnight if I do go."

"Well, you could come with us," Seiya suggested hopefully.

Her face lit up. "Really?"

"Of course!" Seiya smirked. "Although, we've already payed for our hotel rooms and only have enough beds for the four of us originally going, so we'd have to share one." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Before Usagi could do anything other than blush slightly, Haruka slammed her hands loudly on the table. "Dammit, Kou!"

Seiya forced herself not to jump, glancing up at the tall blonde she had honestly forgotten was there. "Is there a problem, Tenoh?" She was beginning to have mixed feelings about the emptiness of the parlor: on the one hand, they weren't drawing much attention because no one was there. On the other hand, Haruka looked _really_ pissed - and _no one was there._

"You know damn well there is!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." Seiya's voice was frosty as she glared into Haruka's dark blue eyes. "Odango and I were having a perfectly pleasant date before you showed up, so, if anything, the problem here is you."

That seemed to be the final straw for Haruka. She reached over and grabbed Seiya's shirt collar, effortlessly lifting her out of her seat and bringing her nose inches from her own. "Get it through your thick skull, Kou: She. Is. Taken. End of story," she growled threateningly, her voice low so only Seiya could hear.

"And yet her prince is halfway around the globe, abandoning her when she needs him most! I will never stop trying to win her heart until she herself either rejects or accepts me, and there is nothing you can do about it."

Enraged, the tall blonde drew her fist back. Just as it was about to make contact with Seiya's jaw, a small hand appeared out of nowhere and captured it. Startled, the both looked over to see a trembling Usagi watching them both with watery eyes.

"Haruka-chan, let him go." Her voice, despite her obvious distress, was steady.

"But koneko-chan, he-" Her protests were cut short as the smaller blonde shoved her fist away with a surprising show of strength. Seiya's eyes widened as she watched Haruka stumble slightly before regaining her footing.

"_I said release him._" Her normally happy blue eyes were a steely blue-grey, and her voice held a note of authority Seiya had never heard from her before, although a slight feeling of familiarity whispered through her mind.

Haruka let Seiya's collar go and stepped back, eyes on the ground.

"Leave, Haruka. Now," Usagi commanded, purposely leaving off the honorific. She stared at the woman before her, her eyes filled with disappointment and tears that refused to fall.

Shocking Seiya further, Haruka bowed lowly to Usagi, and, with one last glare at Seiya (that wasn't... _suspicion_, was it?), turned and walked briskly out of the restaurant.

With Haruka finally gone, Seiya relaxed and turned to Usagi. "Odango, are you ok?"

She looked up, eyes a little clearer and lighter. "I wasn't the one who almost got decked," she stated with humorless chuckle. Her small hands gingerly caressed Seiya's face, checking for any signs of bruising. Her fingers ghosted across her chin, trembling slightly when they came to her lips.

"Odango..." Seiya breathed out. The blonde's eyes had darkened again, this time for an entirely different reason.

"Here are your smoothies!" Unazuki's cheerful voice cut through, effectively ending the moment. "Sorry about the wait, all the appliances were going crazy back there," she explained apologetically.

Usagi's face reddened and she stepped away, hand jerking away from Seiya's face like she'd been electrocuted. "Um... Yeah. Looks fine to me." She turned away. "Thanks, Unazuki-chan," she mumbled, sitting back down at the booth.

Despite feeling annoyed at... whatever that was... being interrupted, Seiya had to keep from jumping with happiness. _She feels it too!_ For the rest of the evening, the dark-haired teen watched her Odango happily, teasing and flirting subtley.  
~o~  
By the time Seiya dropped Usagi off at her house, the moon and the stars were shining brightly in the sky, and it seemed like their little almost-moment had been forgotten. They stood on the steps, neither really wanting to say goodnight.

Finally, Usagi took a deep breath. "So, um... listen, I'm so sorry about Haruka earlier. She was completely out of line and - "

Placing her finger over the blonde's lips, Seiya grinned and shivered slightly. "It wasn't your fault, Odango, so don't worry about it."

"Still," she mumbled, "I'm sorr - "

Seiya laughed. "Honestly, Odango, it wasn't that bad." She was, of course, lying through her teeth, but oh, _anything to see that beautiful smile_.

Said smile spread its way across Usagi's face, making her eyes sparkle. "Well, other than that, today was wonderful. I... I really needed that." She bit her lip and glanced up at the sky. "You seem to be doing that a lot. Taking me out and cheering me up when I'm feeling down, I mean."

"Hey, anything for you, Odango," Seiya whispered fervently.

"Okay, so... goodnight, I guess," she said uncertainly.

"Goodnight, Odango."

Usagi frowned slightly, feeling the sudden urge to do something. Just as Seiya turned away, she reached out and grabbed her arm, placing a kiss on the taller girl's cheek. "Arigato, Seiya-kun." With that, she disappeared into her house, leaving a dazed Seiya on her front step with her hand on her cheek and a goofy smile.

* * *

_~later that night~_

The two outers lay on their bed, legs intertwined as Haruka rubbed her hand along Michiru's back, fingering the hem of her satin nightgown. She sighed loudly.

"Ok," Michiru said, propping herself up on her elbows, "What's the matter? You haven't said a word since we got home."

Haruka scowled. "Baka Kou!" she exclaimed. "Why won't he leave her alone? And Koneko! When will she see sense?"

Michiru placed a kiss on her jaw. "Relax, nothing will happen between the two. Usagi, crybabyish and stubborn though she is, she is surprisingly mature. She will make the right decision."

Silence fell over the bedroom as Michiru's mouth trailed down to the blonde's neck. Moments later, Haruka frowned again. "There was something… _off_ about Kou today."

The aqua-haired woman sighed.

"No! Really, there was. Something about his body was different…"

Michiru raised an eyebrow. "Am I to understand that you have been ogling Kou Seiya's body so much that you would notice a difference in it?"

The blonde blanched. "Of course not, Michi! You know you're the only one I look at!"

Giggling, Michiru resumed her kisses once more, roaming further down.

Sighing contentedly, Haruka allowed herself to be distracted, but her previous encounter with Kou remained at the back of her mind…

* * *

Urg. I wanted to post this yesterday... I'm gonna have to stop predicting my updates, I'm always wrong :p Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this -short- chapter. Had a harder time writing the confrontation than I thought I would. I was originally going to have Michiru there with Haruka, but then I decided... I couldn't write it. Dunno why. And if Usagi seems a little out of character, it's because... well, the who story is going to wind up differently. She's going down a different path and making different choices, and those choices will have different effects on her. ^^

Let me know what you think? :)


	8. Chapter 8

Ohayou! Next chapter haha :) I'm going to (try to) start moving forward a bit faster in the story so the actual plot can happen and it's not just centered around Sei/Usa fluff (there will still be plenty of that though ;D). Also! In this story, at least two of the pairings are going to be the ones that are glaringly obvious from the start (including Seiya & Usagi), but I'm trying to be different about most of them. ^^ Enjoy!

* * *

A tall, subtly muscular brunette swept nervously through her apartment, arranging and rearranging picture frames and wiping at nonexistent dust. She kept glancing over toward the couch where a short, blue-haired teen was diligently at work on her laptop. Almost an hour had passed this way, and would continue to for several more minutes.

Finally, a triumphant crow made the taller teen jump and abandon her cleaning in favor of seeing her friend's progress. "What did you find, Ami-chan?" she asked, falling onto the couch.

"It was a little difficult, as is expected after years of neglect, but I was finally able to get the disks in the transport room to respond to my signal." Ami smiled a relieved smile. "Now that those are up and running, getting there will be so much easier; this means Usagi-chan won't have to exert so much power now, Mako-chan!" The happy teen wrapped her arms around Makoto's waist, beaming up at her.

Blushing slightly, Makoto grinned. "Good job, Ami-chan. We should go find the others and tell them!"

* * *

Minako Aino was currently sprawled out over her rather large, very orange bed, Artemis laying lazily on her stomach. The room was filled with the sweet, haunting melody of one of the Three Light's songs. As she listened, she thought of Yaten, the person who'd constantly been in her thoughts since she first met him. Her feelings towards him were complicated: she was torn between the possibility of him being an enemy and the fact that she was head over heels in love with him.

"Mina-chan?"

The blonde stirred slightly. "Yes, Artemis?"

"You've been awfully quiet... and you stopped rubbing my belly. Is something wrong?"

With a small sigh, she sat up. "Artemis, have you ever been in love?" she asked, placing her chin in her hand and staring out the window.

The white cat's eyes got a faraway look. "Hai. I have been." He shook himself. "But it was a very long time ago."

"How did you know?" she whispered softly.

"I... When I was with her, my heart would beat faster, and my palms would sweat," he began.

She wrinkled her nose. "That sounds gross."

Artemis chuckled wryly. "It does, doesn't it? But I suppose those feeling calmed a bit after I realized she loved me too." He looked pained for a few seconds before he composed himself again. "Instead, I got this feeling of... completeness whenever I was around her. Like there had been a void inside me that I didn't even know was there until suddenly, it wasn't anymore. I missed her like crazy whenever we were apart, which was far more often than I liked."

Hearing the pain in her friend's voice, Minako glanced up with a small frown. "That sounds... What happened to her?"

Artemis' eyes flashed with something, and he looked away, unsure how to answer. Suddenly, her watch flashed a few times from where it lay on the nightstand, cutting her off mid-sentence. Reaching over, she held it up and listened to Ami's message: "Meet us at Usagi-chan's. We've made a breakthrough!"

He sighed in relief. "It doesn't matter. We should go see what they came up with."

* * *

"There she is!"

Rei looked up curiously from where she was sweeping. At the bottom of the steps was a group of students, all looking to be around her age. A redheaded girl was pointing up at her.

"Well, go ask her!" The girl shoved a tall, thin boy with long brown hair out of the center of the huddle and towards the steps. Face burning, he trudged up the stairs, looking like he would like nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

Tilting her head, the willowy, dark-haired miko waited for him to reach her, curiosity piqued.

"O-Ohayou, Rei-san. My name is Fumio, and I was wondering..." He bit his lip, looking behind him. The girl from before gave him an encouraging smile. "Would you, maybe, like to go out some time?"

Rei gave a confused smile. "Fumio... Do I know you? Your name sounds familiar."

He blushed slightly. "I go to the private boys' school near yours. We've met once or twice when our schools mingled for field trips."

"Ohh." Rei nodded, recalling talking to him vaguely before. "Ah... Listen, Fumio-san, you seem really nice, and I hate to do this, but... I'm just not looking to date anyone right now." She felt guilt well up inside her at the sight of his crushed expression, but she didn't know what else to say. _I really don't think I'd be comfortable dating at _anytime_._ Something niggled at the back of her mind, a memory she couldn't quite grasp. Shaking her head slightly, she gave the boy an apologetic smile.

"Oh, okay. I'll... see you around then." He practically threw himself down the stairs in his haste to get back to his friends. They all murmured something to him and began walking away, the redhead shooting her a curious glance over her shoulder.

Before she could let herself feel any worse, her watch flashed and she listened to Ami's message: "Meet us at Usagi-chan's. We've made a breakthrough!" Relieved, she propped her broom against the door and left with a quick call to her grandfather to explain where she was going.

* * *

Usagi glared heatedly at the person across from her before her gaze swept right and left, allowing the other two to feel her wrath. "If you think I'm going to let you get away with this, you are sorely mistaken," she ground out threateningly. Her eyes flitted down for a few seconds to confirm that she did, in fact, have the upper hand.

The man across from her bared his teeth, glasses glinting dangerously in the dim light. "We'll just see about that, young one. You are no match for me!"

The figure to the left rolled his eyes. "Can we get this over with already? I have places to be," he whined - erm, stated. In a very manly, non-whining voice.

The woman on the right let out a deranged giggle, a sound that sent shivers up the group's backs. "Yes, let's. I'm looking forward to your reactions when _I_ triumph yet again!"

Growling, Usagi said, "Fat chance! On the count of four! One!"

"Two..."

"Three..."

"Four!"

They each lay their cards down on the table with a flourish. Usagi looked at each hand, laughing maniacally. Shingo pouted at his awful hand and crossed his arm, muttering under his breath. Kenji's forehead hit the table in defeat. With an evil grin, she turned to look at the last hand...

"Noooo!" she wailed, taking in Ikuko's _yet again_ winning hand. "How do you keep _doing_ that?" she demanded, sweeping her cards off the table in disgust.

Ikuko just cackled madly, gathering all the delicious sweets from the center of the table, nearly doubling the size of her already massive pile.

Shaking her head, Usagi stood up, glancing at Shingo's now empty chair and her father's unmoving form. "Is he breathing?" she whispered to her mother.

"Who cares! I won!" The older woman did a little victory dance.

"No more sugar for you," Usagi muttered, making a mental note to find and hide her mother's stash tonight - even if she had to use her own stomach to do it. Yes, she would do it, for her mother's sake. The doorbell rang and she gladly took the chance to escape, running to see who it was. She threw the door open to see her scouts.

"Ohayou, Usagi-chan!" they chorused.

Rei took in her frazzled appearance and the strange visor on her head. "Is this a bad time?"

"Wha- Oh, no. We just got finished with family game night," the blonde explained, taking the visor off and throwing it behind her. "Come on in!"

A few minutes later, they were all sitting in Usagi's room, waiting for Ami to explain her findings.

Unable to completely control her excitement, Ami was fidgeting slightly in her seat. "So, as you know, I've been trying to get the transport room up and running for the past few days using my laptop. This afternoon, I was finally able to connect to the main controls and the disks responded!" She grinned, clapping her hands. "We can go tonight!"

Minako shook her head with a bemused smile. "Only you could hack into a highly guarded, very sophisticated, ancient computer system using a dusty old library as your only motivation." Laughing she dodged the pink, heart-shaped pillow the blue-haired teen threw at her head.

Rei rolled her eyes at the two. "How old are we again?" The twitch of her lips betrayed her amusement.

"So, I guess next we find a place big enough for all of us to transport," Makoto said, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I suppose the temple would be too conspicuous... The park should work, right?" Everyone around her nodded. "Good! Ok, so here's what we do..."

~later that night, Usagi~  
I glanced around at my friends, grinning in excitement. _I finally get to see the palace in all its glory after so many years..._ "Is everyone ready?" I asked, taking a deep breath. When everyone nodded, I closed my eyes and centered myself, the others following my lead.

_"Moon Eternal..."_

_"Jupiter Crystal Power..."_

_"Mercury Crystal Power..."_

_"Mars Crystal Power..."_

_"Venus Crystal Power..."_

_"MAKE UP!"_

As usual, I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face at the rush of power I felt when I transformed. When I opened my eyes, my scouts were all looking at me expectantly, each adorned in their respective fuku. I glanced over at Artemis, who was perched on Venus's shoulder. "What now, oh wise one?"

He stuck his tongue out at me. "Now, Mercury makes sure each disk is on."

Mercury pressed her right earring, causing her visor to appear. After a moment, she nodded. "They're up."

"Now all that's left is to key your energy into your individual disks. They'll respond and allow you into the transport room. Connecting should be easy enough, just concentrate on the feeling you get when you teleport together."

"That sounds easy," Mars said a little skeptically. Artemis just rolled his eyes.

"I promise, it'll come as almost second nature to you. This is how each of you used to travel to the Moon Palace from your own - " He trailed off, looking down at Venus.

A flat circle of light had appeared under her feet, and its orange glow crawled up and covered her skin completely. Her forehead flashed with her planetary symbol and the glow intensified until, suddenly, she wasn't there anymore.

"Oh thank goodness, I thought he'd never stop talking," Rei said, only partially joking. I threw her a smile before closing my eyes and concentrating. I remembered the warm feeling of the power that pulsed through me when we used the Sailor Teleport. Feeling that familiar thrum again, I opened my eyes to see the same thing happening to me and to the others. Our lights reached out and intertwined together, blending with each other's until I couldn't tell where one color ended and another began. When the light died down, we were no longer standing in the park; we were each on a small, raised platform in a large, tech-filled room.

I glanced around the semi-familiar room with interest. Luna spoke up for the first time that night, rubbing her head against my cheek. "Welcome home, Princess."

* * *

I really don't know what I was thinking with this chapter ^^ Parts of it I like, other parts, not so much. I didn't really like the skip between the last chapter and this one, but oh well...

sweetdorka: All in good time, young grasshopper. Like, in two or three chapters :D

Kataomoi no Koibito: Glad you liked, and thanks for pointing those out ^^


	9. Chapter 9

Hi *waves sheepishly* I'm back... I feel like such a loser for not updating for so long. BUT. I'm back, and hopefully will stay back :p

narutoluvr4evr: I'm glad you like it! And that's an interesting theory... I think I completely misunderstood that when I read it the first time though XD So, you're saying each of their first names are Kou? Because that would make sense (I get confused easily...)

sweetdorka: congrats on the upgrade :D And please please please let me know if something confuses you with the story and I'll get it fixed :)

Kataomoi no Koibito: Thanks (again) :) and don't worry! It gets better for Minako soon :D

* * *

~Usagi~

Luna spoke up for the first time that night, rubbing her head against my cheek. "Welcome home, Princess."

I looked around with wide eyes. Monitors and screens line one wall, each lit up and displaying either a different view of the park we just transported from or the space between here and earth. Another wall held banners and flags of different kingdoms; I recognized my scouts' planetary symbols on several. The wall that drew my attention, though, was the one made entirely of glass. Through it, I saw the glowing silhouette of the sprawling white stone palace.

"Wow..." I breathed out, stepping off my disk and walking over to the window. "It's..."

"Beautiful," Venus whispered behind me, smiling dazedly.

I turned around, a grin threatening to split my face. "Well? What are we waiting for?" Knowing they'd follow, I ran from the room and down the pathway towards the palace. As I sped through, lush gardens and small houses blurred past in my peripheral vision. Even though I didn't stop to take everything in, I felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity, of belonging.

Large, ornate double doors came into view, and I came to a stop in front of them. Anticipation coursed through me as I turned to face the others.

Before I could say anything, Mercury stepped forward with a determined, if slightly apologetic, expression. "I know you're excited about finally having access to your palace, but you have to remember why we're here."

I deflated slightly. "Oh. Right. The library." I bit my lip, glancing back at the doors behind me. Shaking my head, I replied, "You're right, you're right. Okay, we go to the library, get our info, and leave before our parents start checking up on us."

My scouts smiled at me. Jupiter punched me lightly on the arm. "There's always next time, you know. We can come back in a few days."

I grinned up at her. "Right!"

"Let's go already!" Mercury exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"This is taking forever..." I whined. Libraries had never really been my thing. As it turns out, dusty, ancient libraries that don't contain a single volume of any kind of manga are even worse. I ran my fingers across yet another row of books, the titles of which proclaiming them to be more and more texts on the history of the members of the Lunar Council. And not even the cool version of them helping to shape and mold the Moon Kingdom, but the extremely dull history of every... single... council member.

"Mercury, have you found anything yet?" I asked desperately.

In the extremely patient tone that she reserved solely for speaking to little kids on sugar highs and me on anything that involved research or studying, she replied, "Not yet, Princess, but we've only been at this for fifteen minutes."

I could practically hear Rei roll her eyes a few rows over. "Baka. Have some patience, will you?"

Groaning, I went back to my section.

Five minutes passed with only the sounds of flipping pages and disappointed sighs.

I glanced around. I was alone in my area; the others had spread out deeper into the library to cover more ground faster. Biting my lip, my eyes landed on the open door only a few feet away... I tilted my head slightly. I could stay here with these dusty old tomes, or...

I was slipping silently out the door before I finished that thought.

* * *

"I've got it!"

The senshi all followed Mercury's voice to the back of the large room, where the shelves seemed to vanish off into the dark and the books had an extra layer of dust. They found the blue haired senshi sitting on the floor surrounded by tomes, holding a surprisingly thin book in her hands.

She looked up excitedly. "I know how she's taking the starseeds!" Flipping back a few pages, she recited, "'A starseed is, quite basically, the physical form of a person's soul. Its beautiful shine gives energy and life to its host; without one, the host would not exist. In order to separate oneself from one's starseed, a great amount of energy is needed to counter the bond. If the energy penetrates the shell of the host in the precise weak spots, the connection will be successfully severed.'"

Jupiter looked uneasy. "So to take a starseed from a person... that's basically erasing them from existence?"

Mercury shook her head quickly. "Not exactly. In another section-" she flipped several sections forward "-it states that the person's soul remains alive, and their consciousness is still inside their starseed. The host that it talks about is the human body; that's the part that wastes away when the starseed is removed."

"So, wait," Mars furrowed her brow, "this evil we're up against... the people they've killed - they're still alive?"

Venus' eyes widened. "So if we get their starseeds back, they can go back to their old life?" The senshi looked at Mercury hopefully.

"Again, that's not quite right." It was Mercury's turn to look uncomfortable. "When the starseed is removed, the person they were has basically died - that is, their memories of that life are gone."

"I don't understand," Jupiter groaned.

"The book speaks of a Cauldron, where starseeds without a host are sent until a host becomes available. They get sent back to earth - or possibly somewhere else - when, say, a baby is conceived," she elaborated. "The life they had before is over, but they get to begin a new one almost right away."

They all took a moment to digest that, sharing looks of disbelief.

Suddenly, Jupiter glanced around. "Wait, where's Usagi?"

* * *

After leaving the library, I found myself wandering down semi-familiar hallways with a huge grin on my face. "Where to first..."

As if responding to my question, my brooch started pulsing with a soft white light. I stopped, eyes wide. As soon as I stopped walking, the light stopped flashing. Tilting my head, I walked forward a few steps, raising my eyebrow when it flashed again.

I continued on through several twists and turns, increasing my pace as my curiosity got the better of me. Soon, I was flat out running. I was so concentrated on the light that I almost didn't notice when the hall ended abruptly.

Skidding to a halt, I stared at the wall in front of me, leaning against it to catch my breath. As soon as I my forehead touched the cool stone, the air around me seemed to shift...

Suddenly, the floor disappeared from underneath my feet, and I screamed as I fell into a dark, endless void.

* * *

Lemme know what you think (and please feel free to point out any mistakes!)


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